>> my -- my -- eliminate the agency as long as it requires congressional approval i wouldn't be doing that. i can get the corruption out of the agencies. >> the world know where he stands on vaccines. he said i won't take them away if they're working for people. they are working for people and have been for generations and generations. the question is does donald trump give him the job he promised or was he using him for votes? >> we'll see. robert f. kennedy thinks he's getting the job. some people don't get vaccines and it affects everybody. taking fluoride out of the water, these are real world implications of a donald trump victory. that does it for us this morning. we'll be back tomorrow at 6:00 a.m. sharp. ana cabrera picks up coverage right now. right now on "ana cabrera reports," the transition of

power. president biden set to give his first public remarks post election next hour. his message. plus, trump world preparing to take back washington. what his new administration and its first 100 days could look like. the democratic reckoning as vice president harris concedes, urging her supporters to fight on. >> to everyone who is watching, do not despair. this is not a time to throw up our hands. this is a time to roll up our sleeves. >> and the balance of power with the fate of the house still uncertain. will the gop pull off a clean sweep? ♪♪ ♪♪ thanks for joining us. it's 10:00 a.m. eastern, 7:00 a.m. pacific. i'm ana cabrera. the transition begins.

in a highly unusual moment in american history. next hour, president biden who defeated donald trump in 2016, will address the nation and discuss the transition plans to hand power back to trump. president biden reportedly extended an invitation for the two leaders and bitter political rivals to meet at the white house. a spokesman for the president elect said trump looks forward to that meeting. trump did not extend that invitation to biden when biden was president elect in 2020. this was preceded by vice president kamala harris' concession speech in front of supporters at howard university. >> now i know folks are feeling and experiencing a range of emotions right now. i get it. but we must accept the results of this election. earlier today i spoke with president elect trump and

congratulated him on his victory. i also told him that we will help him and his team with their transition. and that we will engage in a peaceful transfer of power. [ cheers and applause ] >> let's bring in nbc 'dasha burns following the trump transition in florida. gabe gutierrez is at the white house. in the studio -- actually in the d.c. studio washington post editor. dasha, what are we learning about trump's transition plans and the chatter about who could serve in his next administration? >> reporter: ana, i got off the phone moments ago with a senior campaign official who tells me the focus today is, number one, returning the many calls from world leaders that he's receiving. number two, it's going to be his first meeting with the

transition team that's been run by howard lutnick and linda mcmann. his focus now turns to his cabinet. his advisers feel like that was his achilles' heel in his first administration. some of the folks under consideration, for secretary defense, senator cotton, mike pompeo. senator marco rubio is under consideration for secretary of state. for chief of staff suzie wilds who has been spear heading the campaign, brook rollins and elise stefanik under consideration for ambassador to the united nations. i'm also told he's focussed on looking at the policies, the

proposals he promised this time around. he's very keenly aware of the people who elected him. he's looking at this broad coalition. he feels like he has a massive mandate. last time there was disorganization. they weren't expecting to win. they kind of -- the senior campaign official told me they forgot who brought them there. this time around they want to keep the people who elected them at the forefront and focussed on getting things done on energy, economy, no tax on tips proposal. there's a different attitude from the former president. some of that bitterness that we have seen from him on the campaign trail is gone. there's no more talk of jack smith or letitia james. in part because his legal troubles are set to the side and he feels good where he's at with this mandate. >> gabe, president biden is going to be shepherding the

country through the transition. he'll be speaking as the leader of his party for one of his final times. what will we hear from him? >> reporter: we expect the president to speak in the rose garden within the next hour or so. we expect him to hit on that message that vice president harris talked about yesterday, this idea of the importance of a peaceful transfer of power. to that end, you know, what you mentioned earlier he extended this invitation to president elect trump to come here to the white house. you'll recall back in 2016 then president obama extended that invitation to donald trump at that point, but that did not happen in 2020. trump did not invite biden to the white house. in this speech in the next hour we expect the president to focus on that message of the peaceful transfer of power and to hit on the administration's priorities

in the short time they have left. i was speaking with a white house official this morning who said among those priorities aid to ukraine, implementing more of the inflation reduction act and the chips act and talking about more funding for disaster relief. still a lot to do for the administration before january 20th. we expect the president after he waited to allow vice president harris to speak, he did release a written statement yesterday calling her a tremendous partner. we expect to hear more of that in a short time. >> gabe gutierrez, dasha burns, thank you for your reporting. jonathan, what does the nation need to hear from president biden? how does he reassure democrats and roughly half the electorate many of whom are fearful about what another trump term will bring? >> i expect him to repeat a lot of the same messages that the vice president said to the nation yesterday. above all else, president biden

is a statesman. he reveres the presidency in terms of the duties and how one should comport themselves in actions and words from that office. i think he's going to use the opportunity to try to bring the country together, both those who voted for president elect trump and those who voted for vice president harris in the hopes, in the hopes, that the country can come together and heal. yet, we're talking about a president elect who used his campaign to say some of the most awful things we've heard on the campaign trail. i want to point one other thing out, ana, in the clip you showed of the vice president's speech yesterday where she said that we must accept the election results, that she spoke to donald trump and congratulated him on his victory, that she will help in the transition and

that she's looking forward to a peaceful transfer of power. those are all things donald trump did not do when he lost the election in 2020. between what the vice president said yesterday and what i expect to hear from the president today, they are sending the clear message that they -- of standing up for the constitutional order for the rule of law and for the way the constitution is supposed to be, supposed to be revered. >> guys, i have another projection to make. nbc news can now project that donald trump is the winner in alaska, picking up three more electoral votes. again, he already met the threshold needed to become president elect. it does give him three more electoral votes in terms of the electoral college. donald trump winning alaska now. he has 295 electoral votes with a couple states, as you can see,

nevada and arizona, not called yet for the presidency. congressman, jonathan touched on this. we heard from vice president harris, the obamas, nancy pelosi, highlighting the peaceful transfer of power that's about to take place. after what happened with trump in 2020, your thoughts on how democrats have handled this election loss? >> exactly as we have seen throughout history, a defeated party should handle it. i think jonathan's comment is exactly right. you see vice president harris and joe biden, the recognition that the office is greater than one person and that the constitution holds a pre-eminence in this moment. we didn't see that from donald trump as we all know. it will be a moment for joe biden to display the grace we typically see from him, even in moments of defeat. i think for those looking for how do we handle four years of donald trump testing the elasticity of the constitution,

how strong are those guardrails, we heard it have vice president harris yesterday, that the office is greater than one person. the constitution is greater. the ideals and the protection of the constitution is what trump needs to be wrapped into for the next four years. immediately after taking office donald trump will probably test some of those guardrails. i expect president biden will remind us there's relief in the constitution if we look through that lens as donald trump takes office. >> when you talk about our constitution, i had an interesting conversation with my kids last night, about the way the country works and they asked about donald trump returning to power after not being in power could he run again my 8-year-old asked me. we have this conversation about the way it's supposed to work. jonathan we ticked through some of the names on trump's potential cabinet list. what stands out to you? is this a more focussed operation compared to his first transition?

>> yes, because he didn't really participate in the transition from obama to his administration. didn't also really participate in the transition between his administration and the biden administration. as we have seen over the course of this campaign, whether you look at project 2025 and all the discussions about it and the discussions of the people who were involved in project 2025, they've been laser focussed on not just policy they want to do, but also the people who would staff a republican/trump administration. yes, this transition, at least in terms of how president elect trump is dealing with it, much more focussed, much more focussed on who's going to be in the administration who's loyal to him and to his policy objectives and to his goals. >> house control, congressman, is still up in the air right

now. there are still dozens of races, key races not called just yet. if republicans end up with a trifecta here, the house, senate and the white house, what does that mean in terms of donald trump's first 100 days? >> it's a fascinating question. the biggest concern of total would be that house democrats don't have the oversight authority and the impeachment authority if we ended up in a situation like that. i'm not sure donald trump's first 100 days requires much of a legislative agenda. it's really extended the tax cut package and they have a year to do that, until the end of the year. the greatest concern is what he does by executive authority in the first 100 days, the immigration roundups, tariffs, the department of justice going after enemies, what he does in russia and the middle east. none of that requires the hill. what we'll see from the hill is

falling in line and a public defense of whatever donald trump does using executive authority. >> all those promises you ticked, we'll discuss throughout the hour. thank you both so much. jonathan and congressman david jolly. be sure to catch jonathan saturday and sunday at 6:00 p.m. eastern on msnbc. president biden is preparing to address the nation at 11:00 eastern. we're carry them live. could the biden administration see an increase of migrants at the border? how the white house is preparing. the doj moving to wind down its cases against trump. what can he do to that department once he takes power? first, control of the house still up in the air. republicans hoping for a clean screen. we'll talk to representative eric swalwell about that and whether he's concerned about retribution from the president elect. we're back in just 90 seconds.

r. also try the new chewable fizzy chews. no water needed. clem's not a morning person. or a... people person. but he is an "i can solve this in 4 different ways" person. you need clem. clem needs benefits. work with principal so we can help you with a plan that's right for clem. let our expertise round out yours. the first time you try bounce, it hits you. your laundry feels way fresher, softer. so you start to wonder. if i put a sheet of bounce on the finance guy, will it make him softer? bounce can't do it all but for better laundry, ♪ put a sheet on it with bounce. ♪ ♪ bounce can't do it all like a relentless weed, moderate to severe ulcerative colitis symptoms can keep coming back. start to break away from uc with tremfya... with rapid relief at 4 weeks. tremfya blocks a key source of inflammation. at one year, many people experienced remission... and some saw 100% visible healing

of their intestinal lining. serious allergic reactions and increased risk of infections may occur. before treatment, your doctor should check you for infections and tb. tell your doctor if you have an infection, flu-like symptoms or if you need a vaccine. healing is possible with tremfya. ask your doctor about tremfya today. ♪ this morning democrats are hanging on by a thread in the fight for control of the house of representatives. right now republicans are closing in on that 218-seat threshold needed to keep control of that chamber. the gop is nine seats away from reaching that threshold. house speaker mike johnson predicting his party will hold its majority.

minority leader hakeem jeffries said the house remains very much in play. ali vitali is tracking this at the big board. ali, fill us in. >> some key races haven't been called. magic number we're looking for is 218. democrats are far outside of that compared to where republicans are. we're tracking a few key races at this point, ana. if everything remains as it is, assuming the vote totals here and votes are still coming in, let's assume that nothing changes the margins hold. of these currently held blue seats you see denoted in blue, only alaska and california look at this point like they're likely to flip. that would be plus two in the republican column on their quest towards 218. let's assume the rest remain the same blue held, and then we get into these other races currently

held by republicans but democrats are trying to flip. right now if we assume the totals don't change, new york 19 and -- pennsylvania 10 and new york 4. that puts plus two in the democratic flip column. these cancel each other out and you see democrats need to flip eight. that does not put them closer to that margin, not in the numbers they need. the other race on here that's interesting and we talk about what the impact of house control looks like, if it goes to republicans, one of the biggest differences is that the republican house majority or minority is mostly full of trump allies at this point. the one person who could be an exception is congressman dan newhouse out in washington's 4th congressional district. we're watching this because it was republican versus republican, maga aligned versus someone who voted to impeach donald trump for his actions on january 6th.

i believe there's only two left in this congress. when you think about the way trump has remade the republican party, this is another way to think about it. thetolerated. you're each marching with the party or you're out. >> much more to watch. thank you, ali. joining us now is democratic congressman eric swalwell of california. hakeem jeffries says the house is still in play for democrats. 31 seats that your party needs to pick up based on what's left, including races not called in your home state right now. still in play, is that how you see it? >> yes. there's a path for democrats to be in a very thin majority and, if we're not in a thin majority, it's a very thin majority for republicans. we know how that works. we were just in that. because the republicans were completely disorganized and

chaotic hakeem jeffries was the functional speaker of the house because every vote of consequence came from democrats. we know how to do that. we would rather be in a position the house can fence in the worst instincts of donald trump through our accountability measures. we'll wait and see, ana. california, traditionally it will take another week or so. these votes will put candidates up on our side or down. it's going to be a roller coaster. it's hard to read where they'll go. >> let's let every vote be counted. congressman, let me read to you a portion of the letter to house republicans speaker johnson sent out. our caucus will operate from our well designed playbook and execute those plays with precision to put points on the board and win for the american people. how are democrats preparing? >> well designed playbook.

that playbook had interceptions, fumbles, penalties, offsides. they couldn't do anything with speaker johnson without democrats. we're willing to work for them where we can deliver for the american on lowering costs, securing the border, helping our allies on the frontlines, keeping the government open. we'll stand ready. it's comical to hear they have a well designed playbook. it was a farce under their leadership. >> only one of the candidates in the presidential race were talking about bipartisan on the campaign trail. that was not ultimate what won. trump picked up support, almost across the board with the working class, with voters of color, with men and women. he closed the gap in blue states. he expanded support in swing states. republicans took back the senate. did voters hand trump and the republican party a sweeping mandate? >> well, i respect the will of

the people certainly. i'm not going to respect the ill of a weasel in donald trump, somebody who doesn't understand these same voters don't want government-mandated abortions. they don't want a sweepup and roundup of anyone who looks like an immigrant in this country. they don't want us to walk away from our obligation to defend ukraine. there's a lot we can work on together if he wants to be serious, if he wants to have security at the border and address the workforce crisis. with immigration you'll find more democrats than not who want to be there with him. if he wants to carry out grievances against his political enemies, he's looking at the tallest fence in the post right now as to the effort that will fence in any of his corruption or political grievance campaigns. >> you mentioned carrying out grievances against political enemies. you, as we all know, served as

an impeachment manager for trump's second impeachment. trump alluded to retribution. let's listen. >> well, revenge does take time. i will say that. >> it does. >> sometimes revenge can be justified. i have to be honest. sometimes it can. >> are you personally worried about political retribution from the former president now soon to be the president again? >> yeah, i'm not. i expect that it will likely come and i'll protect my family and my staff as any of us who are threatened by the former president. i'm all in. i'm worried about the young woman right now in a state with a six-week abortion ban who doesn't know what she's going to do. i'm worried about the students who go to class tomorrow and live in a mass shooter culture because they don't have a president that wants to address that issue. i'm worried about the ukrainian

people on the frontlines who just saw america walk away from them. if they can find a way to move forward, i can. that doesn't mean we shouldn't grieve and be upset. we have to have a to-do list on what we're going to do to protect the country and not let donald trump turn out the lights on democracy. >> congressman eric swalwell, thank you for joining us this morning. up next on "ana cabrera reports," donald trump promising mass deportations. what that could mean? plus, the aclu launched more than 400 legal battles against trump's policies the first time around. an inside look at how they're preparing for a second term with immigrant and lgbtq rights at stake. ant and lgbtq rights at stake.

at humana, we believe your healthcare should evolve with you, and part of that evolution means choosing the right medicare plan for you. humana can help. with original medicare you're covered for hospital stays and doctor office visits, but you'll have to pay a deductible for each. a medicare supplement plan pays for some or all of your original medicare deductibles, but they may have higher monthly premiums and no prescription drug coverage. humana medicare advantage prescription drug plans include medical coverage. plus, prescription drug coverage with $0 copays on hundreds of prescriptions. most plans include coverage for dental, vision, even hearing. and there's a cap on your out-of-pocket costs! so, call or go online today to see if there's a humana plan in your area and to get our

free decision guide. the medicare annual enrollment period ends on december 7th, so call now. humana - a more human way to healthcare. jen b asks, "how can i get fast download speeds while out and about?” jen, we've engineered xfinity mobile with wifi speeds up to a gig, so you can download and do much more all at once. it's an idea that's quite attractive. or... another word... fashionable? i was gonna say- “popular! you're gonna be pop-uuuu-larrr!” can you do defying gravity?! yeah, get my harness. buy one line of unlimited, get one free for a year with xfinity mobile. and see wicked, only in theaters november 22nd.

now to some nbc exclusive reporting. after months of fewer migrant

encounters, the biden administration is expecting a major increase in migrant crossings in the weeks before trump takes office. messages written by immigrants after trump's victory, the reason is obvious. after the 21st of january, he'll close the borders with extreme security. he can't make any decree yet said another. there's not a lot of time left. nbc's tom llamas has more on trump's promises at the border. >> we'll have to seal up those borders. >> reporter: he made immigration the center piece of his campaign. >> we're like a garbage can for the world. >> reporter: when he's back in the white house president-elect trump has promised to immediately crack down with mass deportations of people in the country illegally. >> on day one i'll launch the largest deportation program in american history. we've got to get criminals out. >> reporter: trump has said he'll mobilize the military and local police. he's offered few specific

details on how it will actually work. with 11 million undocumented people in the u.s., the process would be expensive and complicated. one report puts the price tag at 88 billion a year to hire new i.c.e. agents and build detention camps. >> i'm sure it's very expensive. it is something that's worth doing to preserve the rule of law, to order what's going on, the chaos at the border and to preserve an immigration system that has integrity in the united states. you have to set rules and enforce them. >> reporter: trump says mass deportations are justified by a two century old law. some legal experts say trump's interpretation is way off. >> it's not lawful to use a centuries old statute to deport people. it was for a specific purpose when a foreign government invades this country.

that's not what's happening here. >> reporter: trump made immigration a major focus of his first administration with mixed success. he built part of a wall on the u.s. border with mexico and separated families who crossed illegally. now in places like north carolina, this family lives in fear they could be separated. jenny's husband, isabella and mckenzie's dad is undocumented. >> i was afraid one day they would come home and he wouldn't be here. >> reporter: he lives in the shadows. the family asks we don't show his face or share his name because they worry he could be deported. >> i don't make any trouble. i go to work and come home. my family's here. >> reporter: millions of families bracing for what's next. tom llamas, nbc news. >> joining us now is deidre sheefling. we heard from children of undocumented immigrants. talk about their fear of a second trump administration.

what do you say to those who are worried that there's nothing really that can be done to stop a potentially more aggressive, potentially more effective trump? >> well, i would remind folks that in the first trump administration the aclu filed more than 400 legal actions to stop trump's illegal and unconstitutional and frankly immoral attacks on immigrant communities. things like the muslim ban. things like family separation, tearing children away from their parents at the border as some sort of form of immigration deterrent. as well as a tax on other communities, lgbtq communities, discrimination against women. the aclu is going to be on the frontlines this time around. we are ready. we have a fire wall for freedom. we have a plan. we have litigators across the country. we have advocates, organizers,

millions of supporters who stand ready to defend immigrant communities. >> where do you begin? >> i mean, i think we've already started. we started a year ago preparing for a possible second trump administration. researching project 2025, understanding what their plans would be and how we can stop them. >> you said you're staffing up, you're working with states as well, so not just within your organization. beyond immigration, of course, one of the big issues is reproductive rights. >> donald trump said he would not support a federal ban on abortion rights, although other republicans have said the opposite or suggested using the comstock act to ban medical abortion or abortion pills. how would the aclu respond? >> the aclu has been at the forefront of reproductive

rights. we worked on a number of ballot initiatives across the country protecting reproductive rights in red states, in purple states, in blue states. we have saw those pass in arizona, missouri, montana. people are supportive of reproductive rights. people feel passionately these are decisions that should be made by a person in consultation with their doctor, not politicians. and if donald trump is so foolish as to come after reproductive rights, we will be there with litigation, with our millions of supporters, with our advocates in every single state in our country to stop him. >> there are a lot of groups afraid right now, including the lgbtq+ community. 62% of lgbtq voters said they would be scared if trump won according to the nbc news exit polls. what types of issues are you all monitoring when trump takes office?

>> let me first just say that we were disgusted by the tens of millions of dollars that the trump campaign spent attacking transgender people. i think most americans were also disgusted by that and confused about why this is a focus and why we are -- why this president is going after a vulnerable community like that. the aclu will -- is prepared to fight legally, fight in the courts, fight in the streets for the rights of transgender people, for the rights of lgbtq people to live a free life, to have access to the health care they need, to not be subjected to discrimination in the workplace, in housing, in health care. we're ready to fight. >> do you feel like the american people have your back given the majority of americans who voted and picked trump, despite or maybe because of these promises

he made? >> i think the majority of americans agree that people should be able to live a free life, that people should be able to have a democracy that works for them. elections are never just about one thing. that was true in this election for sure. we know that during the last trump administration we tripled our volunteer and our membership -- grassroots membership size. people were coming out of the woodwork asking what can we do? if you're ready to fight for freedom, if you're ready to stand with us come to aclu.org, sign up. we'll put you to work. >> thank you for joining us. coming up on "ana cabrera reports" trump voters said it was their biggest issue. >> i think he can help the entire economy. >> good for the economy. good for values. >> working class americans stood up.

>> higher prices on milk, eggs, your daily essentials, it wakes people up. >> can the president-elect deliver on what voters want with the economy and inflation? the collision course between the federal reserve and donald trump that could be on the horizon. at. right... for a better clean with less... it's got to be tide.

expected to lower interest rates for the second time since

september, which should translate to lower mortgage rates and costs for car loans and credit cards. while that move seems fairly certain, the fed is facing uncertainty about what president-elect trump's economic policies would mean for the economy. nbc news data analyst brian cheung is with us now. the markets are soaring after the election. we're expecting an interest rate cut. >> record highs on the dow and nasdaq after trump's win. today markets are drift higher on the expectation we could get more help to markets in the form of a lower interest rate from the federal reserve. we had that question mark on what the fed's going to do. expectations is they'll cut interest rates today. anything can happen. markets are expecting the fed to cut again not by a half percent, more likely a quarter percent. the reason why is the numbers on the screen. inflation is lower than it was

in the summer of 2022. prices are still going up at a yearly pace of 2.4% compared to 9% in the summer of 2022. wages are increasing at a faster rate than inflation, up 4% on a yearly basis. concern for the fed is with the unemployment rate at 4.1%. they don't want high interest rates to make the unemployment rate to go higher. >> will their plans change at all based on the fact it was trump who was elected very kamala harris and an administration coming in taking over? they have offered different visions for the future. >> the federal reserve is in washington. as long as they're talking about washington, politics is at play. the federal reserve is an independent agency. the federal reserve chairman is appointed by the president.

jerome powell was appointed by trump in 2016. whether or not he wants to replace him, that's up in the air. what we'll expect to see today when he has a press conference today, he'll face some questions. does the impact of the election change the way you're viewing the economy? he's going to say no, no, no. the federal reserve is independent. they don't run interest rate decisions through the president. that's important to remember. >> we'll be watching it all. thank you, brian cheung. we're keeping our eyes on the white house this morning. we'll take you there next hour when president biden starts speaking about the election and transition. first, a legal vanishing agent. what the doj is doing with trump's legal cases following his election. he promised retribution against his enemies. how might trump bend the justice department to his image and fulfill that promise? we'll talk to a former top doj official.

for easier heartburn relief, one beats ten. prilosec otc. one pill. 24 hours. zero heartburn. ♪ prilosec otc. like a relentless weed, moderate to severe ulcerative colitis symptoms can keep coming back. start to break away from uc with tremfya... with rapid relief at 4 weeks. tremfya blocks a key source of inflammation. at one year, many people experienced remission... and some saw 100% visible healing of their intestinal lining. serious allergic reactions and increased risk of infections may occur. before treatment, your doctor should check you for infections and tb. tell your doctor if you have an infection, flu-like symptoms or if you need a vaccine. healing is possible with tremfya. ask your doctor about tremfya today. ♪ it's payback time. all these years, you've worked hard. you fixed it. you looked after it.

maybe it's time for your home to start taking care of you. we've invested in our home, we've worked on it, we had a whole lot of equity just sitting there, you paid down the mortgage, invested in your home. i guess, you could say, your home owes you. if you're 62 or older and own your home, learn how you could access a portion of your home equity to give you cash. a reverse mortgage can put more money in your pocket by eliminating your monthly mortgage payments, paying off higher-interest credit cards, and covering medical costs. look, finance of america can show you how a reverse mortgage loan uses your built-up home equity to give you tax-free cash for almost anything you might need just eliminating the mortgage payment freed up a lot of cash for us i get to do what i want when i want finance of america customers talked about the counseling they got along the way so they know how a reverse mortgage works,

and how their home could help pay them back when they need it the most. i have no more worries anymore the fact that we're still in this home, means so much. it's done everything for us that we hope it would do for us. call now to receive your free no-obligation info kit. the kit shows you how to get you the cash you need using your home's equity with a reverse mortgage. find out how your home can start taking care of you. call this number. the worry every single month to make that payment was gone our customers' homes are taking care of them. maybe, your home could do the same for you. call finance of america, the country's #1 reverse mortgage lender and get your free info kit. call this number.

it's a first in american history, a president-elect who has been convicted on felony charges. donald trump is set to be sentenced in his new york hush money case in just a few weeks, but it's not clear if that will actually happen. nbc news has new reporting. doj officials are moving to wind down the two federal criminal cases against trump. nbc news senior legal correspondent laura jarett has the latest. >> president-elect donald j. trump. >> reporter: a swift political victory appearing to pave the way for a legal triumph. justice department officials have been evaluating how to wind down the two federal cases they brought against former president trump before he returns to the white house according to sources familiar with the discussion. >> we overcame obstacles.

>> reporter: a remarkable twist of fate for mr. trump who has been fighting criminal cases in four different jurisdictions. in washington, his attempt to overturn the last elections. in florida, allegations he hoarded classified documents at mar-a-lago. both federal cases mired in appeals and delays for months as mr. trump has vowed to fire the top prosecutor in charge, special counsel jack smith. >> i would fire him in two seconds. >> reporter: mr. trump's legal team is determined to bring a swift end to all criminal prosecutions for good. buoyed by his new status as president-elect. >> there's no crime here. everybody says there's no crime here. >> reporter: the immediate goal, to indefinitely postpone or do away with his sentencing, currently set for november 26th in new york where a jury found him guilty of orchestrating a hush money payment to stormy daniels ahead of the 2016 election.

his election interference case in georgia is tied up in appeal. what isn't easily dispensed with mr. trump's civil cases, including that massive fraud judgment against his company brought by new york's attorney general. >> we'll continue to stand tall in the face of injustice, revenge or retribution. >> laura jarett with that reporting. joining us now is former deputy assistant attorney general harry lipman. let's start with the hush money case. do you expect that sentencing to happen? >> there's no legal impediment to it, ana. he's got -- not only is he not the president, but as a federal official there's no reason the state can't proceed. however, once he becomes president, i think the federal courts would hold everything has to be put on ice. the question is can he persuade

the judge not to pass sentence because it won't be able to be executed. i think there's a strong argument that the judge would still decide, look, we're going forward until we can't. we're now up for sentencing. we understand there may be impediments when that time comes. that will be his decision. now, trump will almost certainly try to appeal quickly and the sentencing is set for the 25th. try to use delaying strategy. there's no reason not to be sentenced. there's no principle that a president-elect can't hear criminal sentence pronounced. >> we're trying to make sense of this unprecedented situation. another former u.s. attorney and nbc contributor chuck rosenberg called the doj's move to wind down sensible, inevitable and unfortunate. how do you see this? >> i say sensible, inevitable and unfortunate.

sensible baas there's no way around it. come january 20th, it's not the principle in the story about you can't prosecute a sitting president. it's the fact that as the head of the executive branch trump will order the cases shut down. you don't want to have a situation -- he's also said he'll fire jack smith in two seconds. it's part of a kind of reign of terror he promises. you want to close it down on your own terms and methodically rather than chaotically and abruptly. the big decision for jack smith and the department will be whether to write a report for the attorney general, which the attorney general will have the discretion to make public, that's the sort of last possibility for possibility for airing out all the evidence that they have collected. but it makes no sense to try to scramble to january 20th. at that time, it will be completely dead because trump says you must stop.

>> and so then what else could trump do? let's talk about that. because his legal adviser mike davis posted a warning to jack smith on social media after the election saying, quote, lawyer up. can the doj do anything now to protect those prosecutors on jack smith's team or jack smith himself from retribution? >> short answer is no. at least the way trump is planning to completely overhaul the doj. hollow out all of the career staff and just institute a reign of terror, what would stop him? nothing as far as we can tell based on the supreme court's view about the -- his executive powers and when he said he would fire jack smith, he cited the immunity opinion. in other words, he's thinking i can violate the law in doing this and it doesn't matter, no one can come after me. now, mike davis has become almost cartoonishly savage here, he's talked about really a total

blood in the streets kind of war of retribution. i think that the important point to notice for starters, when the federal government trains its resources on you, it is ruinous, even if there is nothing there. davis specifically talks about the financial cost. people who have to lawyer up, jack smith has been a public servant all his life and there is no real issue that he's committed any crimes. but there is nothing to stop a corrupt, a corrupt in the sense of not going after the merits, doj from forcing him now to lawyer, defend himself in court, and it can be ruinous even if they don't ultimately succeed. this is the most concrete scary sign to date that a democratic rule of law in the department of justice is about to be completely bulldozed and become a tool of autocracy for donald

trump and petty revenge. >> that is certainly a fear of a lot of people right now. harry litman, thank you for just shining light. we appreciate you. up next here on "ana cabrera reports," ukraine on edge, russia buoyed, and europe in doubt. will donald trump cut off u.s. aid? and what the biden administration is planning to do before trump's return to the white house. before trump's return to the white house. so we invited people to give ehealth a try and discover how easy it can be to find your medicare match. this is pretty amazing. i can go on a vacation with this money. i have quite a few prescriptions. that's why people call us. we're going to compare plans, and i'm gonna try to get you as much bang for your buck as possible. that's great. this one here covers all your prescriptions, your doctors as well. oh, wonderful. i have a hard time with this. that's okay, that's what i'm here for. based on our conversation today, i would highly recommend this plan. you're so helpful. you know, you don't know. i'm excited for you, sir. again, my name is sham. and if you have any other questions, give me a ring.

thank you very much. oh, my god, that was super easy. uhhh! see how your medicare plan stacks up with the big changes for 2025. just call this number or get started at ehealth.com. compare plans that cover your doctor's prescriptions, pharmacy and budget, and compare plans from the nation's top insurance companies. they pay us to help you. how much do you think you'll be able to save using ehealth? at least $300 a month. would you say you found your medicare match? yes i did. what sham did she explain to me exactly what i needed to know? well, i have a surprise for you. sham, come on out. oh my goodness. it's a pleasure to meet you today, sir. what does it feel like to be face to face? you helped me out quite a bit. call to meet your advisor. they're paid the same. no matter which medicare advantage plan you choose. ask them about ehealth, live advice or get started on your own at ehealth.com. either way, it's always a free service. see if you could get more for less with ehealth, like these folks did. the savings are unbelievable. i could see the costs side by side.

ehealth is wonderful. $1,200 savings in my pocket. i was really pleasantly surprised with that. (♪♪) (♪♪) ehealth. your medicare matchmaker.

welcome back. we have a live look at the white house, where president biden is set to speak in just a matter of minutes, make his first public remarks about the election results and his predecessor, donald trump's historic win and his soon to return to the white house. we'll take you there live as soon as the president starts speaking. meantime, leaders from all across the globe are calling donald trump at mar-a-lago. they're congratulating the president-elect on his win, that includes ukraine's president volodymyr zelenskyy, who is urging trump to maintain u.s.

support of his country in its war against russia. the president-elect has repeatedly questioned financial and military support to ukraine. and has been a vocal in some ways proponent of vladimir putin. >> russia, even though they're a little bit busy killing a lot of people, a war that would have never taken place, zero chance , i speak to vladimir putin a lot. >> this is not a charity event. >> nbc news chief foreign correspondent richard engel is joining us now. what are your contacts in ukraine saying about what happened here in the u.s.? >> well, it's not just that they're saying this now, they had feared this was coming. for the last year in ukraine almost all of the conversations have centered around this subject, what do you do if president trump is re-elected. and they all know that means drying up the end of american

support for ukraine. and they have been wrestling with that, trying to figure out can they have a strategy, can they take enough territory to hold? remember a few months ago, ukraine did this audacious plan and marched in and seized a piece of russia. that was in part to impress trump, that was in part to deal with this scenario right now so that they could show the world, they could show president trump, look what we can do, we're not a lost cause, we're not just sitting there in the trenches blowing through american money, blowing through american weaponry. we can take the initiative. we can win this war, don't give up on us. but now that the election has come, the election is gone, and president-elect trump will be taking the office fairly soon, the reality is coming that the day has come and american support is going to dry up so that means they're probably going to be forced to sign some sort of peace agreement because

you can't fight a war without weapons and what does that like? can they secure a strong enough position so that the peace agreement is not a total disgrace and leaves them humiliated, weakened and potentially vulnerable to future invasions. >> richard, it is not every day i have you here in the studio. and you visiting the u.s. you cover so much that is happening all around the world around the u.s. and so i just want to take a moment to ask you about what we're seeing, not just in the u.s. with the election of donald trump, but what we have seen now in many other countries? i think about argentina and their recent election, and, you know, somebody who is trumpian and other parts of the country. >> that didn't come out of nowhere. >> there is a trend. >> there is an absolute trend. and it is often called populist. people call president trump a populist leader. i think the more accurate term is nativist. and a lot of people don't know that term. so nativist means you support the native population over

immigrants. so that you favor the interests of the -- what is called indigenous people, the first arrivals more than the new arrivals. so it would be spain for the spanish, germany for the germans, argentina for the argentineans, or potentially america for the americans. now, in the u.s., it is a different context here. this is a country of immigrants aside from the native americans who are here, indigenous population, everybody here came at some time. but it is about identifying a particular population, which in this case was trump's base of sort of predominantly white, though not only that anymore, working class people who have -- working the system but the idea of a nativist population as opposed to immigrants. we have to focus on our own people and not open the doors to other people, because that's a liability. that trend is spreading all across the world. it is spreading across europe, it is already predominant in latin america, and it is happening